Stuck oil rigs, grizzly bears and changing weather patterns are just a few of the obstacles Gijs de Boer and his team of researchers encountered on the ground in Oliktok Point, Alaska.
De Boer, a scientist with the (CIRES), who works in ’s Earth System Research Laboratory, spent the last two weeks deploying the DataHawk 2, a small, lightweight, unmanned aircraft, designed by Dale Lawrence, a professor in CU-Boulder’s . The researchers are collaborating to use the unmanned aircraft to take measurements of temperature, humidity and winds over the lowest levels of the Arctic atmosphere to better understand the lifecycle of Arctic cloud properties, small-scale wind patterns and the vertical mixing of air between the surface and cloud height.
With little under a week left in his Alaska adventure, we asked de Boer about the research trip highlights.
Do you have a favorite moment from your trip so far?
The first campaign flight of any unmanned research aircraft is always a nice moment - watching the aircraft take off and head out to do its thing!
How long did it take you to get to Oliktok?
On a good day, you can get from Boulder to Oliktok in one day (DEN-SEA-ANC-SCC with Alaska Airlines, and then the 2-hour drive from Deadhorse (SCC) to Oliktok Point. In practice, it usually takes longer, and we generally take the day to fly to Anchorage before heading up to Oliktok the following morning. This year, a giant oil rig blocked the only road to our destination. We had to essentially portage all of our gear around the stuck rig!
What is the weather like on Alaska’s North Slope?
So far, we’ve seen 50s and we’ve seen 30s. The last couple of days have been cold, with windchill values in the 20s and constant mist. I didn’t bring my heavy duty Arctic gear for this trip; the most important thing right now is blocking wind and water. I’m wearing my regular clothes, and, over those, some waterproof pants, jackets and boots. Ultimately, however, this is about as nice as it gets up here!
We heard you've seen a few grizzly bears. Can you tell us about one of your bear encounters?
We'd been watching a bear for a while, and, at that specific point, he decided to check out the area near where we were working, so we took shelter. Afterwards, he came by the Air Force station where we are sleeping and caught a goose for a snack in one of the ponds about 10 yards from my bedroom.
How far and how fast can the unmanned aircrafts fly?
The plane can fly for about 75 minutes, so at 15 meters per second, that’s roughly 68 km.ĚýBut if you want to get back to your starting point, then that probably means turning around at around 25-30 km. In reality, we don’t have access to that much airspace due to FAA regulations, and our operations are limited to a 4 km diameter circle. Generally, the planes fly at around 15 meters per second (~34 mph), but they can fly substantially faster than this.
How will this type of research impact CIRES, NOAA and CU-Boulder?
This work involves the use of innovative techniques in research areas - atmospheric and Earth system science, high latitude science, aerospace engineering and unmanned systems - in which CU-Boulder is known as a global leader. The measurements obtained will assist in the development of weather and climate models, advancing predictive capabilities and, ultimately, providing stakeholders with improved predictions, thereby advancing NOAA’s mission and really embodying the spirit of CIRES.
Why is this type of research important to you?
Personally, the opportunity to get into the field and really experience the environment that I spend so much time analyzing is really rewarding. Experiencing changes in weather local conditions, seeing the Arctic ecosystem “in real life” (including grizzly bears, foxes, birds and caribou) and just generally getting in tune with the pulse of this region is really exciting.
Is there anything else you would like the CU-Boulder community to know about your experience?
It has taken a lot of work to get to the field campaign phase. It would have been impossible to get here without the support of the CU, CIRES and NOAA communities and the encouragement and support they provide to the pursuit of science. Additionally, field work is a lot of fun! ĚýAnalysis of the data is what results in the eventual publications, but collection of the data is where a lot of the knowledge and understanding is born!
Read more about de Boer’s experience on the CIRES'Ěý.Ěý
